Improvement in horse-rakes



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

'IRA RBBINS AND JAMES-OLD, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN HORSE-RAKES.

Speemcatron forming part'of Letters Patent No. 43,346, dat'd 'December 6, 1864.

To all whom it may concern:`

Be it known that we, IRA RoBBiNs and J AMES v OLD, both of the city of Pittsburg, in the,

county/"of Allegheny and Stateof Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Hay-Rakes; and we hereby declare the following to be a full, clear', and exact descripiion thereof, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings, forming part of this speciiication, in which- FigureI l is a plan or top view of our iinthe teeth and of a separate cross-bar to support the teeth', thus simplifying the construction and decreasing the weight of the machine, and enabling the springs -not only .to rise vertically when they meet with any obstruction,

:but also to yield slightly backward', thus lessening the strain on the machine and diminishing the liability ofthe teeth to bend and break.

To enable others skilled in the art to construct and use our improved machines, we

vwill proceed to describe their construction and operation.

[n the drawings, a is the axle of the carriage, at each extremity of which is a wheel, b. To the axle are attached two shafts, cc, in the usual manner, and across the shafts, near to -'the'axle a, is a small platform, d, for the driver,

above and in the rear of which is the drivers seat e,`so placed` as to throw the weight of the driver slightly in front ofthe axle.

ff, &e.,are the teeth of the-rake, curved, ot' the usual shape at their rear end, and made 4of steel. The front end of each tooth f is bolted orotherwise securely attached to a cross bar, g,'which is placed in front of the axle of the' machine. The front end of the teeth is curved round the bar g, as seen in Fig. 2, each tooth passing over the top of the bar without touching-its upper surface, and is bent round with a curve o flshort radius, so as to pass in penses with-'the necessity o tV using a separate spring pressing'on the upper side'ofthe teeth, as is usual in the construction of hay-rakes using curved metallic teeth. The tooth-bar g is placed infront ofthe axle a, as before stated, but so much lower than it as"to permit the .teeth to rest upon the u1iper` surface of the axle when in the proper position for use. The teeth extend back of the axle for some distance and curvedownward toward thegroiind. The axleof the carriage thus serves the purpose of a rest' for the teeth, and keeps them all in a uniform vposition and at an equal heightfrom .the ground, and by thus placing the cross-bar g, to which the teet-hk are attached in front of the axle, so that the teeth' may rest upon it, nedispense with' the use of a separate rest, which in hay-ra'kes as heretoforeconstructed isattached to the clearing-bars h h. The toothbar g is attached to the front side of the axle f by iron arms 'k k, which are inserted at t' i into hingepieees j, attached to the axle. At one sideof the drivers seat is a bent lever, Z, the long art'n of which extends up to the seat, and the short arm' Z is attached to the tooth-bar g, in like manner as the arms h k, the fulcrum of the'lever being close to the axle a, being pivoted to a hinge-piece, j, inserted in the axle a. The leverl thus performs the part of an arm` to support the `tooth-bar g and attach it to the axle, and also enables the driver to lower the tooth-bar g and raise the rear end of the .teethoif the ground, as shownby dotted lines in Fig. 2.

When it is desired to lower the teeth for use the lever-arm Z is drawn backend held in position by a projecting plate, m, on the arm of the drivers'seat, which forms a notch for it t enter. The teeth projecting in-"the rear of the axle a so nearly balance that portion of the teeth'which is in front of the axle and the` tooth-bar y, to which they are attached, that there is very little strain on the lever-arml when the teeth are lowered, the weight;V ofthe teeth and tooth-bar being sustained by. the axl'e a. A staple. n, is passed around each tooth and inserted into the forward edge ot' -the axle. The staples, not being driven down vclose to the teeth, allow of sufficient play to the teeth, and yet prevent their being raised too high-or working sidewise.

The advantages of our improvement are that the teeth have a spring in themselves,and are not dependent on detached springs, which are liable'to get ont of order, and that, from the peculiar shape of the spring and the manner in which it is attached, each tooth is susceptible of a horizontal motion either forward or backward in addition to the spring ofthe rear end of the tooth, and ot' the vertical motion which is common in such machines; also, that' by placing the har to which the teeth are attached in front of the axle 'the Weight of the teethis nearly evenly balanced on either side ot' the axle, which makes the machine much stronger and more simple. The employment of staples attached to the axle, through which the teeth pass, is ,als'c an advantage, as it Igives firmness and steadiness to the teeth Without interfering with the horizontal and vertical spring necessary to enabie them to yield to obstructions which they may meet with in use. j

Having 'thus described our improvement in hay-rakes, what we claim as our invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. Placing the har to which the teethA are attached in front ot' the axle ot' the machine, and hinging it thereto, so that the weight ot' the tooth-bar and teeth shall bear directly upon the axle and be nearly balanced thereon.

2. In combination with thetooth-barg, placed 'in front ot' the axle,as described, the arms k k and short arm Zof the lever l, attached at one end to the tooth-har in front of and hinged to the axle, so that on depressing the toothbar lby a forward motion of the lever l the points ofthe teeth are raised Yfrom Vthe ground while the teeth still'rest upon the axle,which serves as their fulcrum or turning-point, thus dispensing with the use of a separate cross-piece to sustain them in an elevated nosition, substantially as described.

in testimony wl1ereof-we, the said IRA ROB- BINS and JAMES OLD, have hereunto set our hands. IRA ROBBINS. JAMES OLD. Witnesses:

A. S. NICHOLSON, JOHN M. NEAL. 

